• Question: What do electrons and protons form other than atoms?

    Asked by Mariha to Tatiana on 26 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Tatiana Trantidou

      Tatiana Trantidou answered on 26 Jun 2015:

      Hi Mariha,

      an electron can pair with a proton and make a “positronium”, which belongs to the category of “exotic atoms” (normal atoms in which one or more of the electrons or positrons have been replaced by other particles of the same charge). The positronium is a very unstable system (it has a very short lifetime). The two particles destroy one another and they produce radiation (gamma rays).

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